During the 2015-16 fiscal year, Paras was hoping to hit the Rs 150-crore mark but he saw almost half its revenues vanish due to the ban on the instant noodles brand. Paras, which has been a Nestle vendor for over 30 years, laid off nearly 300 temporary workers. Others got 50 per cent work. "Just like Nestle offers livelihood to us, we offer livelihood to people down the line. All were adversely affected," says Paras, who admits to also "exploring export market." Now with Maggi on trial production mode, it's ripple effect in reverse. "If the production resumes full time, a majority will be back. Many local workers have gone through hard times. They had some work during the harvest season. But once it ends, in a fortnight or so, they will struggle for employment," says Paras. Kulwant Rai, who has been re-hired at Paras earlier this month, says he was without work after being asked to leave. "I tried but there are no jobs," he says. Nestle is a life source to Moga and acts as a bridge between the area's agriculture and industry . The MNC set up its manu facturing unit here in 1961 but the focus is primarily only on milk products. Maggi noodles account for around 6-7 per cent of the total output. The plant is workstation for around 1,200 permanent workers, and an equal number of temporary and daily wagers. But the company has deeper links with the local economy than the numbers suggest. From sourcing milk, flour and spices to providing jobs for truckers and loaders to thousands who work for the vendors in and around the area, it brings rupees and robustness to the sparsely-industralised region.

On Monday, Nestle resumed production at its oldest plant but it will be a while before normalcy returns. Currently the three plants, including the ones in Karnataka and Goa, are generating samples for testing. Only if the tests show that the noodles and the spices conform to the standards, will operations be back to normal. The company will supply four-five batches of five Maggi variants from the three plants.

But the development means that workers like Kundan Lal (name changed on request), involved with Maggi noodles production for over two decades, is back at his familiar workplace. "Of course, there were questions from relatives but we were always sure of the product. It was only a matter of time before we were back in business. Ups and downs always happen. Just look at the Sensex," he said, as he wrapped up the 2pm shift on Tuesday . Like several of the 100-odd permanent workers in the Maggi unit, Lal had been deployed in another unit.

Another worker, Shailender Singh, 35, is "happy" to be back working at the Maggi noodles unit. "I had been shifted to the Cerelac plant. I am happy to be back in the unit I had been working for eight years," he said.

While things seem to be falling in place for some, tough times continue for many temporary and contract workers. Like the vendors, many temporary workers saw their working week curtailed. "There were many who would travel miles to come to the factory only to be told at the gate that they were not required on that day," said a worker on contract, who was deployed in the condensed milk plant.